Monday, June 22, 2009

Fatal Washington DC Rail Transit Collision

A rush hour collision between a pair of Metro transit trains has killed at least two people, and injured a number of others. The cause of the crash is currently undetermined, and so far at least 60 people have been taken off of the trains.

Updates will be forthcoming.

UPDATE AT 7:15 pm Eastern Time - CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight reports four people dead. 200 Firefighters are on the scene. More than 70 patients have been handled. The injuries range from moderate to life threatening. Many people left the scene on their own. Emergency crews are still sifting through the wreckage as more personnel are enroute.

UPDATE AT 7:45 pm Eastern Time - Fox News is reporting that at the tme of the accident, one train was stopped, the other plowed into the rear of the stopped train. The mayor of Washington DC is calling this the deadliest accident in DC Metro history - Mass Casualty Event. East Coast Metro traffic is severely affected by the crash. Death toll, at this point, remains at four.

UPDATE AT 7:55 pm Eastern Time - Fox News is reporting, after a discussion with a witness, that one of the trains may have been empty upon impact.

UPDATE AT 11:30 pm Eastern Time - Associated Press is reporting 6 dead in the train collision in Washington DC. 76 people were treated at the scene. The search for more victims will continue through the evening. There is no official explanation of the accident, other than that a moving train plowed into an unmoving train. This is the third major subway or commuter rail crash in a big city in the past nine months. The other crashes occurred in Los Angeles and Boston.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Two dead, others hurt in DC rail transit collision - Yahoo News/Associated Press

No comments: